Officials

Offical

Name: Beazley, Kim

Current Position: Ambassador

A longtime Labor Party politician, Kim Christian Beazley has served as Australia’s ambassador to the United States since September 2009.

Beazley was born on December 14, 1948, in Perth, Western Australia. His father, Kim Beazley Sr., served in parliament as a member of the Labor Party from 1945 to 1977 and as education minister in the Whitlam Government (1972–1975). His mother, Betty Judge, was a former Australian 880-yards track champion and record holder. She also coached future Olympic champion Shirley Strickland.

Beazley attended Hollywood Senior High School and later the University of Western Australia and Balliol College, Oxford, where he got to know Tony Blair (future prime minister of Great Britain) and Geoff Gallop (eventual premier of Western Australia). He was a Rhodes Scholar in 1973 and earned a Master of Philosophy degree.

After returning to his home country, Beazley tutored and lectured in politics at Perth’s Murdoch University. His political career began in 1980, with his first election to parliament as the representative from Swan. He went on to serve 27 years in the Australian House of Representatives, and served as House leader from 1988-1996. He was leader of the opposition twice, from 1996–2001 and 2005–2006.

He served in the cabinet of his protégé, Prime Minister Bob Hawke. In 1983, Beazley was appointed minister for aviation, and later was minister for defense (1984–1990), transport and communications (1990–1991), finance (1991), employment, education and training (1991–1993), and finance again (1993–1996). His interest in military affairs eventually earned him the nickname “Bomber Beazley.”

Beazley also served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Paul Keating, as deputy prime minister (1995–1996). He retired from Parliament in 2007.

In recent years, he worked as a professorial fellow at the University of Western Australia, focusing on politics, public policy and international relations. He also was chancellor of the Australian National University in 2009.

He has been a member of the council of advisors of The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, and he co-authored the book, The Politics of Intrusion, The Super Powers in the Indian Ocean (1079).